# TOM December: GL Pease Haddo's Delight



## kheffelf (Jul 31, 2006)

Put your reviews here for the tobacco of the month for December.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

1st!!! p
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alright, last night i cracked the 8oz tin from '05, scattered some out on a paper towel, let it sit for a couple hours. i had a bowl of Three Nuns beforehand, just to remind me what a real Va/Per should taste like.

quick impression of Haddos Un-Delightful:
big wide ribbon cut. when dried out, became harder to pack due to thickness and width of baccy. a LOT of "black" ribbon in there, who knows what that is, i'm hoping it's the perique. tin aroma reminded me of MacBarens Matured Virginia with a dash of NyQuil (or Erinmore Flake w/ maple syrup - you get the idea).
on the flavor front, there's something in there that just bugs me. first, it's not a Va/Per, it's got sh*t in there that should not be in there. enough about that. what i could only think of a way to describe this is thus: take MacB's Matured VA, dull it down a notch, leave a hint of that sweetness/maple syrup taste, add in a heapin helpin of pipe tobacco ash (y'know, when you draw on an empty, but not cleaned out pipe that has a bunch of ash in it), and that's what you have.

i'll try it in a few different pipes. hopefully give it another 3 tries or so like that.


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## DubintheDam (Jun 5, 2007)

I've just finished a half bowl of Haddo, so the taste is still on the tongue. This is by no means a remarkable baccy. It's on the top ten of smokingpipes.com, why, perhaps because it is quite ordinary in a pleasant way. 

The smell from the tin is a very distinct Balsamic vinegar, quite where they get the figs and raisins description from on the label, I do not know. There is a little hint of fruit but more a rotten apple.

To me its like a mix of Prince Albert and Marlin Flake, albeit a very mild Marlin Flake. It has a burley nuttiness to it (but it contains no burley), it has that sweet, sour spiciness of Marlin Flake, also a dark color like that of marlin. It has a slight casing similar to Prince Albert, something you can't really put your finger on. It has a very mild cigar taste similar to Three Nuns (the Perique of course) also.

The baccy is quite moist, I have an open tin for a few months now and it has hardly dried at all, so some sort of moisture additive there me thinks. The leaves are broad, both long and short, light to dark cigar leaf colors and black cavendish (not sweetened).

I get balsamic vinegar with subtle hints coming through of nuts, cloves, cigar with a slight flowery perfume taste. I do like this baccy, but it is unremarkable, again its middle of the road quality and it's "can't quite put your finger on the flavor" is its strongest points. I thinks it's worst point is it staggering inability to dry out. I have another 8oz tin so I'm just going to have to like it, to me Marlin Flake is it's big strong brother, I find this mild to medium in strength, where they get off calling it 'stout' is beyond me.

A good medium baccy with a balsamic vineger taste. Will I buy, trade more? No. But I will gladly finish and enjoy my 8oz tin.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

dub, it reportedly does have burley, cavendish, and it's topped with something as well, which may be why it takes forever to dry out.
--
nice review though, wish i could put tastes/thought to words like some of you can.
this tobacco is, how do you say, "middle of the road"? 
middle of the road.​indeed.
nothing stands out. i'm in amazement this has such a following as well.

edit: hope everyone is getting their samples by now. damn 1st class mail is working at 3rd class speed lately.


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## ultramag (Aug 23, 2007)

IHT said:


> edit: hope everyone is getting their samples by now. damn 1st class mail is working at 3rd class speed lately.


FYI, I received mine Friday I think it was. This baccy has a very unique smell IMO. I need to break out the baggie again, but I think dubs rotten apple comparison may be right on. I'll fire a bowl up next week sometime. I recently just crawled back out of the humidor after the last KC herf :ss and figured I'd give the tastebuds a week or two before I make my pathetic attempt at a review. :hn

Thanks again for the sample Greg. :tu


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## EvanS (Dec 29, 2006)

Well well well, finally some Haddo Delight. I'll stipulate all of the above-stated descriptions of the cut, look, feel and aroma. On to the smoke...

First bowl I ever had (thanks Greg) I loved it!!! Dried it out quite a bit and it tasted just like Butera's Kingfisher, which is basically a Bur/Per. Nutty and deep, Perique nicely blended...smoke it all day!!

My next 3 bowls were horribly confused. And now I look back and think I know why. It's the Cavendish, just like dub stated, smelling and tasting of over-ripe fruits, like sweet apple going over. As I look back I think that this mix is not, well, mixed very well...or at least my sample wasn't. My first bowl had very little of the dark leaf which I assume is the Cav. My next bowls were full of it. The flavor of the Cav itself wasn't so much bad, but for me it very much did NOT compliment or meld with the blend. Instead it distracted from the VA/Bur/Per. In short it all ended up tasting soggy, musty and vegetal-sweet. Keep in mind that even though I don't normally smoke much of it, I generally LIKE Cavendish.

So my last 3 bowls were smoked with a "correction" to bring it all back into play. That correction was a Latakia-infused pipe. These last 3, all smoked in Lat-only pipes were outstanding!! The Lat seems to have served to counteract the Cav and bring it all together. But that's not really saying much for the original blend, is it?

Overall i would not buy this. Not for me, and I am not quite sure what others see in it. Usually i can understand but this one, based on my sample, was a mess of interesting flavors that did not work together. Dried well it burned fine but left a little moist it really went soggy at the bottom of the bowl.

Next time Greg is free with the samples I will not so blindly take the term "IHT" to mean "I Have To"....cuz i don't...you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me, you can't make me,


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## dayplanner (Dec 11, 1997)

Had a half a bowl of this a little while ago, and I second what everyone else above said. It started out nice enough - great tin smell, easy light, burned well. But then, all of sudden, it was like I was smoking menthol tobacco.
Anyone want a tin, -1 bowl?


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

:r
this is funny, cuz it seemed i was about to be burned at the cross on another board for saying it had extra "junk" in it that kept it from being considered a Va/Per.
i guess i should put Escudo in the light English category with that logic - Haddo's is NOT a va/per, can't be, won't be, never be.


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## DubintheDam (Jun 5, 2007)

Good review *EvanS, *good tip on the latakia pipe, I'm glad IHT points out there is Burley in it, assures me my palette isn't completely dead. The two good points I'd add, is, there can't be that many others blends like it, and in general it isn't a bad baccy.


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## smokehouse (Jan 31, 2007)

Greg thanks again for the sample. 

Out of the 5 bowls I had none of them were the same. The Virginia and Burley pretty much stayed consistent through out each bowl. I didn’t notice any topping. The Black Cavendish to me was not over powering. Each bowl was different and sometimes I barley even tasted the Black Cav. The Perique at times was fine but sometimes it would turn into a perique bomb. I think I had one bowl that had the right amount of perique in it for my taste. 

I don’t see what the hype is about this blend either. I would not buy more. I am glad I tried it though.

Oh yeah I smoked it in a Latakia pipe too.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2007)

OH MAN the words flying around on this one. 

I will have to stand and say i love some haddo' D. 

To me it stands as a VaPer and stands very well. Sure its got little bits of other tobaccos in it but to me they support the overall smoke, mostly in the body. The Perique in HD flys to the nose in waves and the nic puts rest into your soul. Sweet but not overly sweet with an almost cinnamon finish. With the wide ribbon cut my Nording freehand ,with its large deep bowl, just loves to eat this stuff under flame.


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## rehbas21 (Aug 8, 2007)

Got my sample in from Greg this morning, as soon as I opened the bag this very strong smell of rotting fruit hit me. To be honest it was kind of unpleasant and I wasnt really looking forward to smoking it. Moving on...I laid out a bowls worth on some notebook paper and let it try for an hour or so before packing the bowl. (tobacco seems to hold moisture well) After getting to bowl lit I sat back to enjoy this blend, I was really surprised with the flavor, it was nothing like rotting fruit :r Honestly I really enjoyed the flavor I got, not that it was all that complex but it's flavor was somewhat sweet with a bit of spice. I'm still trying to develop a pipe palate but I do know that I really enjoyed this blend, so much in fact I believe a couple tins will be added to my next order. So while others may not see what all the fuss is about I think I do. Thanks Greg for the opportunity to help me find another great blend (even if you don't like it haha)


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

rehbas21 said:


> So while others may not see what all the fuss is about I think I do. Thanks Greg for the opportunity to help me find another great blend (even if you don't like it haha)


ryan, it just means "more for you."
flipside is that it means you won't be buying more of what i want, too.


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## CigarGal (Jun 2, 2006)

I got my sample today(Thanks Greg) so I will get a review posted soon.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

CigarGal said:


> I got my sample today(Thanks Greg) so I will get a review posted soon.


good to hear that 1st class mail takes a full week nowadays.
maybe they need to charge us more for a stamp?


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## CigarGal (Jun 2, 2006)

I had a half bowl of this in a Stanwell tonight. Right out of the bag since it had a week in the mail to dry out a bit. Seemed to light well. I noticed the smell as soon as I opened the envelope-same smell as Firedance. It reminds me of fruitcake so it is the same raisen apple thingy going on here.

I liked the flavor-more like a sipping smoke. There is a hint of something lingering in the taste as well as in the air but I can't place it. I will try some more tomorrow when it isn't so cold outside.


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## CigarGal (Jun 2, 2006)

I was curious about the name and found this on google.

HADDO derives from the word "Davoch" which was a unit of land that could be ploughed by an OX in a day. A "half davoch" was not surprisingly, half the size and this became abbreviated to HADDO.

Haddo Estate is in Scotland and was home to the Earl of Gordon for centuries.


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## DubintheDam (Jun 5, 2007)

CigarGal said:


> I was curious about the name and found this on google.
> 
> HADDO derives from the word "Davoch" which was a unit of land that could be ploughed by an OX in a day. A "half davoch" was not surprisingly, half the size and this became abbreviated to HADDO.
> 
> Haddo Estate is in Scotland and was home to the Earl of Gordon for centuries.


10 outta 10 for the research. Nice. I can see this baccy going very well while ploughing a field, I'm serious!


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

DubintheDam said:


> 10 outta 10 for the research. Nice. I can see this baccy going very well while ploughing a field, I'm serious!


i'd only hope some of the bull shite would cover the aroma of this blend (but that's just me).
:BS


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

I just got my sample today, but hell with it. I'm doing a review after one bowl. First impression of look and smell - traditional burley/cavendish blend. VA/Per, eh? It smells kinda figgy sweet with lotsa burley. The taste, as with a lot of tabaks IMO says "Hi! Nice to meet ya!" in the first quarter of the bowl and then becomes confused, blurred and mixed up in the last three quarters of the bowl. Puffed a couple out my nose to check the flavor and that definitely gave my only real hint of perique. Only two exhales and I felt like I'd blown a whole bowl of Irish Flake out my nose. As for the fruity sweetness, it comes off to me as a topping, but I'm just a dumbass so how would I know? Its not bad and would be worth trying in a broader more shallow bowl (a popular opinion of mine). I might finish smoking the sample baggy, but I might not. IMO, this one is for lovers of dark cavendish/burley blends, like Captain Black fans or something. I hate to go with the flow but I give this one an inverted :tu


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## CigarGal (Jun 2, 2006)

I had my second bowl and nothing more to add. It is an okay smoke, but it didn't knock my socks off. I am anxious to try Escudo to compare. I opened my tin and it had a bad seal so I hope the baccy is still good. I have had the tin a year and it had a dent on the side that must have broken the seal.


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## kheffelf (Jul 31, 2006)

Had my first bowl and I was very unimpressed. I really want to like this stuff for some reason. I tried it in a latakia pipe-someone mentioned it, the Haddo's was so bland that all I could taste was the latakia. My first impression very bland, with just a little perique flavor. I will have to try it in a vaper pipe next time.


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## EvanS (Dec 29, 2006)

kheffelf said:


> ...all I could taste was the latakia....


this is what made it decent 

really make sure that you mix up your tin/sample very well. Mine was all over the place and I realized it was like the various leaf seperated in transit or something


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

After a few more bowls, I kinda like this, but it is a pretty delicate smoke. Right now I'm smoking it in a brand new pipe and the flavor is completely different. Anyway, it reminds me mostly of an aromatic (McClelland's Georgian Cream particularly, except the base tobacco quality is way better) with a definite burley character and a very subtle perique accent. I'm starting to LIKE that perique. This might need a dedicated pipe to be fully appreciated but I'll bet after that pipe became infused with the flavor it would be an awesome smoke.


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## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

i think we've had a great turnout for this blend.
i still have to smoke more of it to find out if it's worth a poo to me.


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## ultramag (Aug 23, 2007)

I just had another bowl of this and figured I'd give my feeble attempt at a review since I'm about out of month. I really like the tin aroma of this. It is a dried fruit type of aroma that I find pleasureable. Upon lighting though it just doesn't really excite me a bunch like some other blends. It isn't a reach out there and grab you right off the bat tobbaco by any means. That being said it is kinda growing on me. Greg sent me a real nice sample (5 bowls) and I have one bowl left. I think I will be buying a tin or two and revisiting it down the road. 

I got busy and inadvertantly DGT'ed about 2/3 of a bowl this last time. When I got back to it about 12 hours later the flavor seemed more like the tin aroma than it ever had to me. Not sure if this would be the norm, but I think I'll try it with the remaining bowl.

In short, I guess somehow I did strangely enough, kinda sort of enjoy this while not being truly captivated. It at least requires more tasting than a sample though IMO.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Mad Hatter said:


> After a few more bowls, I kinda like this, but it is a pretty delicate smoke. Right now I'm smoking it in a brand new pipe and the flavor is completely different. Anyway, it reminds me mostly of an aromatic (McClelland's Georgian Cream particularly, except the base tobacco quality is way better) with a definite burley character and a very subtle perique accent. I'm starting to LIKE that perique. This might need a dedicated pipe to be fully appreciated but I'll bet after that pipe became infused with the flavor it would be an awesome smoke.


I've got one bowl of this left. BTW, thanks for the generous sample. I definitely plan to buy some tins.


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## JPH (Jun 30, 2006)

Excited to to do my first tobacco review in January....


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## CigarGal (Jun 2, 2006)

What are we smokin' in January??


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## ultramag (Aug 23, 2007)

CigarGal said:


> What are we smokin' in January??


Esoterica Dorchester. If anyone needs a sample, shoot me a PM. I'm actually prepared for the next couple of months. :tu


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